Our chair, David Reynolds, has been in Cambodia attending a meeting of chairs of CMS organisations from around the world. David writes …
I arrived in Cambodia after three flights, totalling around 14 hours in the air. The journey from the airport ran into some unexpectedly chaotic traffic. It turned out to be a three-day public holiday - Pchum Ben (also known as Ancestor’s Day) when Cambodians return to their home villages to commemorate the last seven generations of deceased relatives.
This was Siem Reap, gateway to the temples of Angkor.
CMS Asia were having Board and staff meetings, and I was there to join my fellow-chairs at our Global Chairs Forum (GCF) meeting alongside them.
We spent the first day or so getting to know each other and the folks from AsiaCMS. This included the obligatory visit to Angkor Wat, and a trip to visit some mission work at Poipet on the Thai border.
The Global Chairs Forum was set up in 2019 to enable the chairs of CMS organisations to share their experiences, challenges, and solutions. We meet twice a year by Zoom, and always had the intention to meet face-to-face every three years, but Covid delayed things.
Our discussions were focussed initially on our respective governance structures and procedures, what we might learn from each other, and what might constitute best practice. But they ranged far and wide in an open and collaborative matter on many issues of mutual concern.
It was wonderful to get to know each other face-to-face, and also to have a time of fellowship the the AsiaCMS Board and team. We all hope to build on this foundation going forward.
(left to right) Andrew Khoo AsiaCMS, James Oakley CMS Australia, Jeff Rawn SAMS USA, Graeme Mitchell CMS New Zealand, Charles Clayton CMS Britain, David Reynolds CMS Ireland, Rebecca Nyegenye CMS Africa, Vinod Victor AsiaCMS
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